Athletics > Men's Cross Country > Coach
Meet the Coach
Paul Carr
Head Coach
Paul Carr began his cross country coaching tenure at Wheaton in 1999, bringing a wealth of experience and success with him from the high school ranks.
Entering his 11th season at Wheaton, Carr's coaching expertise has had a dramatic impact on the success of the men's and women's programs. Under his tutelage, the women have finished among the top two at the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship six times, while the men have been among the top four on three occasions.
With a healthy balance of seasoned runners and solid underclassmen, the women's squad captured its first conference championship in program history in 2004. The men finished fourth in the 2004 NEWMAC meet, with both teams securing All-America individual finishes at the NCAA Division III Championship.
In 2006, Wheaton's women sent another competitor to the national meet before the squad finished second in the conference during both 2007 and 2008.
As the former head cross country coach at Oliver Ames High School in nearby Easton, Carr produced state championship boys' teams in 1997 and 1998. A USA Track & Field (USATF) Level I certified coach, he nurtured the talent of the top high school distance runner in the country, who ran 4:02 in the mile and 8:50 in the two mile. Both times were the best in the nation for those events. His second runner ran a 4:14 mile. Carr was recognized as the 1998 Boston Globe Coach of the Year for Division II.
Carr graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst with a bachelor's degree in sport management. He was a three-year cross country letterwinner with the Minutemen.
The Carr File - NEWMAC Championship Finishes
| Year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 6th | 6th |
| 2000 | 5th | 2nd |
| 2001 | 5th | 2nd |
| 2002 | 4th | 6th |
| 2003 | 3rd | 3rd |
| 2004 | 4th | 1st |
| 2005 | 7th | 2nd |
| 2006 | 5th | 5th |
| 2007 | 5th | 2nd |
| 2008 | 5th | 2nd |
Kim Spence
Assistant Coach
Now in her sixth year as an assistant coach at Wheaton, Kim Spence has been a valuable asset to the cross country program. Spence's responsibilities include both instruction and recruiting.
A USA Track & Field (USATF) Level I certified coach, Spence also served as a Wheaton track & field assistant during the 2004-05 school year and has worked with the track & field program at Mansfield High School since the spring of 2005. She currently teaches at nearby Norton Middle School after previously serving as both the program director and gym director at The Little Gym in Cranston, Rhode Island, where she instructed gymnastics and sports skills classes for children between four months and 12 years old from July 2004 until September 2006.
As a four-year member of the indoor and outdoor track & field teams at Wheaton, and a cross country runner her senior year, Spence helped the Lyons win six NCAA Division III track & field championships. A two-year captain for each track & field squad, Spence earned All-America honors in the indoor 4x400-meter relay and the outdoor 3,000-meter steeplechase as a senior after drawing honors as a sophomore for the indoor 800-meter run. Spence qualified seven times for New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) All-Conference honors. In cross country, Spence was an all-region and all-conference runner during her lone season of competition.
A four-time academic all-conference honoree, including three times in track & field, Spence earned Dean's List citations and a Wheaton Scholar-Athlete award and was named a Wheaton Balfour Scholar. She also received the college's Claudia Friese Special Recognition Award her senior year, due largely in part to her behind-the-scenes dedication to the program and her spearheading all of the track & field teams' fundraising efforts.
Spence graduated magna cum laude from Wheaton in 2004 after majoring in American history and minoring in both art history and studio art.
This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 10/31/09.
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Weekly Lyon Update: Men's and Women's Cross Country (more)
Lyon men place sixth, women eighth at NEWMAC Championship (more)
Weekly Lyon Update: Men's and Women's Cross Country (more)
14-Nov Sat Div. III New Englands TBA
21-Nov Sat Div. III Championship TBA
31-Oct NEWMAC Championship - 6th
16-Oct Saints Invitational - 4th
10-Oct All New England Champ. - 45th
